Antique Collectors Club

This book, with 400 colour and almost 100 black and white illustrations, is the result of years of research. It is the first published history of the tools and accessories used by needlewomen in Holland, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, describing how they were used and also who would have used them. Many of these tools were beautifully made by craftsmen from precious metals, treasured by their owners and handed down through generations. Others were very simply crafted out of wood, individually carved and decorated by the artisan. Thimble collectors will be delighted with the abundance of illustrations of thimbles, from those simply made of brass, to gold ones decorated with gemstones. Collectors of other sewing tools will welcome the inclusion of chapters on sewing sets, chatelaines, scissors, needle cases, pin-cushions, tape measures, thread holders and winders, tambour tools and knitting accessories. The final chapter is particularly useful for collectors, as it contains a unique list of the makers of Dutch silver and gold needlework tools, with drawings of their marks to aid identification. The book will be especially interesting to collectors outside Holland, as many of the beautiful sewing tools made there have found their way to other parts of the world. They were exported to the Dutch colonies in America and South Africa, and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries families took all their household chattels with them, including family heirlooms, when they emigrated to America, Canada or Australasia. Overseas collectors may well discover that some of their treasures were in fact made in Holland. This comprehensive book will be an indispensable addition to the library of the needlework tool enthusiast, as all other books on this subject are lacking in this particular area. It contains much new information encompassing the breadth of her expertise, and most of the illustrations are published here for the first time.

The silver box has fascinated and intrigued collectors for many centuries. This book is a comprehensive study of the subject which concentrates on the development of the silver box in England from the 16th to the late 19th centuries. Because the interest of collectors lies not so much in the shape or type of boxes as in the wide variety of uses to which they have been put and the splendid enrichment lavished upon them, there is a penetrating analysis of the roots and derivations of ornament. The full colour illustrations show boxes with as many diverse forms and uses as possible.

The discovery of the Nowotny collection in Vienna brings us a collection that is unique both in quality and quantity of the patterns. It is also a comprehensive record of some of the most refined and elegant creations of the 19th century. In the history of embroidery, the 19th century occupies a very special place. Not only did it coincide with the most popular period in this time-honoured art but it also happened to be the century in which embroidery gave full expression to the ideal of femininity. This work compliments Embroideries and Patterns of Nineteenth Century Vienna, Serena's first publication concerning the Nowotny Collection. Like its counterpart, Animal Embroideries and Patterns surveys samplers, motifs and decorative patterns, but focuses solely on animal patterns.

Based on contemporary documents and modern scholarship, this highly illustrated comprehensive review provides a closely-reasoned analysis of changing furniture styles from 1660 to 1714, together with much technical information on materials and processes.

This work provides a comprehensive listing of all known Chester marks in easy-to-use format with photographs of the actual marks.

The recent exhibitions of Monet's work have centred on his Series paintings and then Water Lilies. David Joel has worked on this period over many years at Vetheuil. Monet lived there for four years and it was there that his first wife Camille, immortalized in over 70 paintings, died of cancer leaving their two young boys. They had shared their small house with the recently bankrupted Hoschede family of which Alice was the mainspring. Years later, when Ernest Hoschede died, Monet was to marry Alice. Never before or after did Monet work so hard over a period of five years. With his dealer's assistance he finally triumphed and was able to rent his home at Giverny and buy it later on. Despite the numerous books on Monet, this period at Vetheuil has never before, in English, been examined in detail. It was Monet's most productive period, for of the 350 pictures made in the 5 years, over 130 are now in the world's great galleries. This work attempts to provide a new insight into the life of Claude Monet.

This book acts as a practical introduction to the subject of collecting British watercolour paintings. There is a lot more to collecting than noting just the price, the name of the artist and deciding whether or not one likes the subject. Many watercolours are either not signed or bear false signatures, or perhaps have been saddled with misleading attributions. The text and carefully chosen illustrations take collectors behind the formal signature on the picture and show them what to look for in it, the idiosyncrasies of the artist, his style and his individual methods of working. Yet even when all the technical points are understood there remains the whim of fashion which varies over long periods and has moved round, ignoring or praising each artist in turn. Without an understanding of the movement of fashion, past collections and ideas on collecting, it would be hard to understand the subject.

The first edition of The Dictionary of Victorian Painters was published in 1971 and contained details of 1,800 artists together with 250 illustrations. It became an accepted text book on Victorian artists and was reprinted four times until a second, revised and enlarged edition with 11,000 entries and 550 illustrations appeared in 1978. The Dictionary is now revised in two volumes, each complementary to one another yet entirely independent works, depending on the particular interest of the reader. This volume contains a scholarly introduction of some 70 pages in which the author discusses the development and importance of Victorian painters and their work setting it within the context of the time. This prepares the reader for the visual examples which follow, 750 black and white and 40 colour plates. The examples which are included show the tremendous output and range of paintings of the time and provide the reader with a visual account of this period in British art. Illustrations, for the most part arranged alphabetically by artist, are a representative selection and provide a picture of the full range of Victorian art. As a visual reference this title should prove useful and will occupy a place in most libraries, art galleries, museums and anywhere that people wish to check details or learn more about one of the most productive periods in British art.